ABSTRACT
Mollicutes are bacteria that lack a cell wall, one of the principal cellular and morphological structures of most prokaryotes. Mollicutes are structurally different from viruses and are capable of sustained growth on cell-free media of varying complexity. Prokaryotic, pleomorphic, resemble mycoplasma, wall less, self- replicating, pass through bacterial filters, sensitive to tetracyclines, transmission by leaf hoppers, found in sieve elements of plants. When a leafhopper inserts its piercing stylet into the vein of a plant infected with phytoplasmas and draws up the sap from the phloem, the phytoplasmas are transferred into the leafhopper’s body, where they multiply. When the leafhopper feeds on sap from a healthy plant, phytoplasmas are introduced into the plant and the plant becomes infected.
